Last fall, we reported on a yearlong Reading Challenge that was launching at McKinley Elementary School. Well, reading’s become such a rage that it’s led to an expansion of the school library.
Tuesday morning, McKinley was the site for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to formally christen the latest Little Free Library installation on DMPS premises.
Like the Reading Challenge, much of the credit for the LFL project goes to Mary Bernabe, who volunteers at McKinley.
“I come and read with kids every Tuesday,” she said. “For the holidays, I put out a call for book donors in hopes of getting enough for every student to get a book to take home at winter break. More than a hundred donors contributed over 500 books.”
There were even some leftovers, and that led to the idea for installation of the LFL. An unfinished model was gifted to the school and art teacher Andrea Rosella and her 5th graders took it from there. They painted the library with a Dr. Seuss theme.
Rosella was given the honor of cutting the ribbon Tuesday morning. Principal Sarah Grady thanked the students for the lasting mark they are leaving on their community, and led them in thanking Bernabe for all of her contributions to McKinley.
By the way, one of the incentives of last fall’s Reading Challenge was free tickets to an Iowa Cubs game for students who read all 20 books on their grade-level list. By the time it was time to play ball again, nearly half of the school had qualified.
Oh, the Places You’ll Go! is the design motif on the new addition at McKinley. The ballpark not far from the school is just the beginning.
